'Road safety crisis' as almost 30,000 learner drivers on Tipperary roads

There are almost 30,000 learner drivers on the roads in Tipperary, a number which has been described as a "crisis".

Figures released to the Irish Road Haulage Association by the Road Safety Authority (RSA) show that there were 27,829 learner drivers on Tipperary's roads at the end of March.

The figures represent a "road safety crisis", the Irish Road Haulage Association (IRHA) said, calling it a mismanagement of the driving test regime.

The Irish Road Haulage Association President Ger Hyland, has described it as a scandal and has called for a root and branch review of the Road Safety Authority and their operation of the Irish driving test system.

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The IRHA also says that an inadequate and backlogged testing regime is forcing young learner drivers out on our roads without a full license or a supervising driver.

According to Mr Hyland, the backlog in driving tests is having a knock-on effect on housing because "young apprentice trades people cannot get to work independently, on families because their children cannot drive to college and on business because learner drivers cannot get to work and are waiting over 6 months or longer for a driving test."

Calling for an overhaul of the driving test system, Mr Hyland said that the current system is not working.

"The current 40 minute driving test allows for an approximate driving time of between 15 and 20 minutes, often in heavy urban slow moving traffic. This would be a great test of one’s ability to sit in a traffic jam, but if we are honestly testing driving skills and driver preparedness, the test as it stands is a shambolic exercise in raising funds for the RSA.

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"The increases in the numbers of learner drivers caught driving unaccompanied is only the ones Gardaí are catching and we feel this is just the tip of the iceberg," he added.

The Irish Road Haulage Association have called for driver education to be a part of the school curriculum and have suggested that each student would be vigorously tested in their ability to drive before they leave secondary school.